San Diego Mental Health

Until 1996, health and social services were divided into five different departments in San Diego County.

1. The Department of Health Services

2. The Department of Social Services

3. The Department of Veterans Services

4. The Area Agency on Aging

5. Commission on Children Youth and Family

In 1996, all of these departments merged into the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA). In 1998, the Public Administrator and Public Guardian also became part of the HHSA

San Diego County is divided into a regional system – Central, East, North Central, North Coastal, North Inland, and South – to allow the HHSA to focus on providing services where they are needed. The City of San Diego is in the Central Region, but as the second largest city in California (population 1.2 million) and county seat of San Diego County, it is the home of many of the health and mental health services provided by San Diego County.

At the beginning of 2005, the San Diego Health and Human Services Agency developed a plan to contract with the private sector as a way of cutting public mental health care costs, but still providing necessary mental health services to county residents. According to its plan, the county continues to administer the county psychiatric hospital, mental health services at juvenile hall, and an emergency screening unit in Chula Vista. The agency continues to focus on what they call a “no wrong door approach”, ensuring that services remain easily accessible to all residents.

Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital

Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital is the largest privately operated psychiatric hospital in San Diego County offering behavioral health services for children, adolescents, adults and older adults. Services include inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient programs.

Scripps Mercy

Inpatient Services at Scripps Mercy are focused towards those with acute psychiatric disorders who are either unable to live independently or pose a threat to others. Programs at Scripps Mercy initially provide patients and their families with stabilization of crisis situations followed by treatments geared to teach patients to manage mental disorders with a goal of resuming their daily activities and their place in the community.

Aurora Behavioral Health Care

Aurora/San Diego provides inpatient behavioral health and chemical dependency services for seniors, adults, adolescents and children. The facility also provides partial hospitalization programs for children, adolescents and adults as well as an intensive outpatient program for chemically dependant adults and adolescents.

Naval Medical Center of San Diego

The Naval Medical Center of San Diego is the largest and most comprehensive military healthcare system in the Western United States providing both physical and mental health care services to those on active duty, retirees, and family members. Mental health services include child psychology and diagnostic services for children, adolescents, and adults. Treatments range from individual and group therapies to inpatient hospitalization.

The VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS)

The VASDHS also offers a wide range of both inpatient and outpatient health services to veterans. The VASDHS is a co-founder of “Stand Down”, a program for homeless veterans that no longer serves only the San Diego area but has spread nationwide. Other special programs and services at the VASDHS include Mental Illness Rehabilitation, Education and Clinical Center and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Program.

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine

The Department of Psychiatry at UCSD School of Medicine offers a full continuum of evaluative and therapeutic clinical services including both outpatient and inpatient services for adults, senior adults, adolescents and children.

The UCSD Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services (CAPD) maintains a 30-bed acute psychiatric inpatient unit for young people with severe mental and emotional disorders. The service is divided into two programs, serving those patients from six months to 13 years old and adolescents from 14 to 18.

The Department of Psychiatry is also equipped with an 18-bed locked and self-contained inpatient unit for adults with severe psychiatric and emotional disorders.